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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. tear — from crying
  6. branch — a division
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bark — to shout
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tear — to rip
  15. kid — child
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lie — to recline
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com